


The Chat Came Back

by LNC



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Marichat May, Witch AU, she'll be ignoring her WIP until the day she dies, this is a silly drabble au pls don't expect a lot of plot, this is a vehicle for fluff and hijinks and will be used as such, to be ignored and picked up as i please, where did this angst come from
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-01
Updated: 2018-05-31
Packaged: 2019-05-01 01:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 3,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14509404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LNC/pseuds/LNC
Summary: Every witch needs a familiar but this was a little much.





	1. i.

**Author's Note:**

> A MariChat May drabble series. MariChat and “May” being used v. v. loosely. Completely unconnected to the calendar and mostly just a vehicle to get this out of my drafts. Yes I do have other stories to write.

“Please don’t scream.”

Never reassuring words to hear on any given day, but Marinette found they were even more disconcerting when spoken by a very strange, very naked man sitting on her living room sofa.  Some distant part of her could appreciate the fact that this stranger was courteous enough to cover himself with one of her throw pillows.  The other, nearer, presenter part was absolutely terrified.

Marinette screamed.

The man winced, his shoulders curbing up towards his ears as if he were in pain.  He looked as if he might stand but as he rose from his seat the pillow nearly fell off his lap and he quickly sat back down.

“ _What the hell are you doing in my house?_ ” She said, reaching for the pockets of her skirt where she kept her wand.

“Wait, Marinette, it’s me!”

But it was too late.  Before “me” could say anything else he found himself suspended foot over ass over floor, blonde hair falling in a gravity curtain, as his hands desperately clutched her poor throw pillow to his crotch.

_Chat is not going to be happy when I throw that thing out._

“ _How_ do you know my name?  Who _are_ you?  Why aren’t you wearing _pants_?” She shrieked, too traumatized to bother averting her eyes as the stranger slowly spun by his suspended limbs.  She tried not to ogle her intruder’s ass and focused on the issue at hand.

“It’s me,” He said, again, straining his neck to face her.  “It’s Chat.”

Marinette stared incredulously at her clearly deranged visitor.

“Chat Noir is my _cat_.”

“Yeah, I know.” He said, somehow managing to sound patronizing with his bare essentials floating in the air.  “Can you let me down now?  I’m pretty sure this constitutes animal abuse.”

The little witch cautiously approached her prisoner so she could catch his eyes.  She was startled to find a _very_ familiar green sparkling back at her.

“Hi,” Chat said, sheepishly.

Marinette screamed again and dropped him to the floor.


	2. ii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna use this as an exercise in self-love. As in I'm not going to fret over these stupid drabbles for weeks before posting them.

“I don’t understand.” Marinette said, massaging her forehead.

“I can run through it again if you want?” Chat - no not Chat - _Adrien_ offered.

She shook her head.  “I just can’t believe you’ve been… you.”

“Would it help if I told you you’ve been the best witch a not-quite cat could ask for?”

Marinette shot him a _look_.  He knew that look.  It was the one she always gave him when he’d gotten into her garden or knocked over one of the potions bottles.

Unfortunately it looked like rubbing up against her leg wasn’t going to cut it this time.

“You always were a troublesome kitty.” She said, leaning back into the rickety table chair she’d fallen into after procuring some old clothes for him.  He was grateful, of course, but the fabric chafed after so many years of letting it all hang out.  “ _Of course_ you managed to piss off some sorceress.”

“My _father_ pissed off some sorceress.  I was merely… collateral damage.”

For the first time since she’d discovered him naked on her sofa, Marinette was looking at him with something a little softer than horror.

“That doesn’t seem fair to you.”

Adrien shrugged.  “You didn’t know my father.”

“All this time…” She said, quietly.  Adrien fidgeted, wanting to move closer but respecting her need for distance.

She may be his witch but it was becoming very clear he was no longer her cat.

The thought sat as well with him as a spur in his paw but there wasn’t much he could do about it.  

Maybe she just needed time to adjust.

“ _Oh my god_ ,” She shrieked and Adrien was on his feet before he understood what was happening.  Marinette’s face was buried in her hands but he could see red splotches on her cheeks.  She peeked through her fingers and glared.  “I _changed_ in front of you.”

Oh. That.

Adrien couldn’t help his sly grin.

“I never said the curse was _all_ bad.”


	3. iii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I broke my rule and fretted a little but it wasn't right before it became right. Anyways ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ these are like little warm ups before I cry over my other WIP.

“What are you doing?”

It had been a long day and all Marinette wanted to do was curl up under the covers, sleep, and not-think about her not-so-familiar housemate.

Something that was proving to be impossible when she entered the bedroom to find Chat– _Adrien_ – sprawled down face first on her grandmother’s quilt.  Her grandmother’s quilt that was serving as the comforter on her bed.  Her bed that was barely large enough for her and her cat let alone her and her… cat.

She still wasn’t sure what to think about that.

The not-cat in question turned his head and blinked up at her.  “Sleeping?”

“ _Oh-ho_ no.  Absolutely not.”  Marinette tugged at his pant leg.  “Get up.”

Adrien frowned, not moving.  “But I always sleep with you.”

“You’re kidding right.”

His sleepy confusion said otherwise.

“Adrien, we’re not sleeping together!”

He sat up slowly as he realized she was serious.  “We did before.”

“You weren’t…” She gestured wildly at his general him-ness.  “before!”

“I’m still me,” Adrien said.

“And yet, you’re not sleeping in here.” She pulled at his leg again.  “Get up.”

“...No.” His mouth pulled up in a stubborn frown and he fell back into the mattress.  “This is just as much my bed as it is yours.”

_Give the cat a plant he’ll take the whole garden._

Marinette glared.

“You have until the count of three before I grab the spray bottle.”

Adrien ignored her and patted the empty space beside him.

“One.”

“You’re not really counting are you?” He drawled, rolling onto his stomach in a way that was a little too familiar.

“Two.” She said, walking over towards the shelf where she kept the bottle in question.

“I’m _human_ again, remember?”

Marinette grabbed the bottle and took aim.

Adrien glared up at her defiantly.

“Three.” She said, squeezing the trigger.  He yowled and scrambled off the bed.

“You _squirted_ me,” He said, scandalized as he wiped frantically at his dripping face.

“It _worked_.” She said, smirking.  “That’s good to know.”

“Great,” He grumbled.  “So where exactly am I supposed to sleep?”

Marinette grabbed the spare pillow and quilt off her bed and shoved them into his arms.  “You have the couch.”

Adrien didn’t have time to protest as she pushed him into the hallway and locked the door behind him.  He blinked at the wooden panels and scowled.

“I can’t believe she kicked me off the furniture.”


	4. iv.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what is this angst doing in my romp

It had been almost a week and she still wasn’t sure what to do with him.

The morning after the first night, Marinette found him sprawled on the living room rug.  His borrowed clothes were twisted awkwardly around his torso and his blonde hair was a veritable nest.

“Rough night?” She’d asked when Adrien rolled over to glare at her.  There were dark circles under his eyes.  He clearly hadn’t slept well.

“ _Someone_ kicked me off the bed.”

“I didn’t force you onto the _floor_.”

“Yeah, well,” He muttered, his cheeks turning a fascinating shade of pink.  “I’m not used to sleeping alone.”

It wasn’t just the bed either.

It quickly became clear to Marinette that Adrien was having a difficult time re-adjusting to a two-legged way of life.  Clothes being a particular point of contention.

After the fourth time she returned home to find him shirtless and basking in a sunbeam she threatened to jinx him if he didn’t curb his exhibitionist impulses.

Adrien wasn’t alone in his discomfort.

Questions surrounding his sudden transformation aside, Marinette was struggling.

She missed her cat.

It was stupid, she _knew_ it was stupid.  He was sitting right in front of her but she missed him all the same.

Sometimes she caught him watching her and wondered if he felt the same.  Not that it mattered now.  For better or worse, Chat Noir was gone and Adrien was officially a Missing Person.

“If you’re a boy,”

“I am.”

“–then someone must be looking for you.”

Marinette glanced over her shoulder to see Adrien lounging in a nearby patch of grass.

He laughed.  “Doubtful.”

She sighed, setting aside her shears and pulling off her gardening gloves.  “I’m serious, Adrien.”

“So am I.” He turned his face towards her but kept his eyes closed.  His hair shone like a halo in the afternoon sun.

“I think…” She paused, carefully considering her words.  “I think it’s time I took you home.”

His eyes snapped open.  “Excuse me?”

Marinette stood up and dusted the soil off of her skirts.  “You heard me.”

“But I’m your _cat_.” He said, scrambling to his feet.  It was disorienting to stand next to him when she was so used to staring down.

“Adrien, you’re not a cat you’re a _person_.  A person that is probably being missed right now.  So why don’t you just tell me where you’re from so I can get you back home.”

Adrien couldn’t hide his confusion and hurt as he met her gaze.  “You’re my home.” He said quietly.

Marinette’s heart ached and she missed him all over again.

“Chat,” She said, hesitating before reaching up to stroke his hair.  It wasn’t fur but it was soft all the same.  “I can’t keep you.”

He pushed his head into her palm.  “I don’t want to go.”

“I know.” Marinette said, softly.  “I know.”


	5. v.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyways here's wonderwall

“What do you mean you don’t remember?”

Adrien shrugged.

“Ch- _Adrien_.  You’re not seriously trying to pull this.  Just a few days ago you were talking about your father and now you’re telling me you ‘don’t remember’?”

“Yes.”

Marinette let out a low screech.

“Are we done here?” He asked, turning back to the book on his lap.

She snatched it out of his hands.

“Oh no,” she snapped.  “We’re nowhere near being done.  You can't stay here, Chat.”

“I don't see why not.  We’ve been doing just fine as we’ve been.”

They had not been doing _just fine_ and he knew it.  Marinette loved her cottage, she really did.  But there was hardly enough room for a her let alone a him.

It didn’t help that the neighbors were starting to ask questions.

She’d been able to wave off Chat Noir’s disappearance but she wasn’t so sure she could explain her house guest so easily.  Marinette had managed to avoid stirring up gossip so far but she wasn’t willing to press her luck.

She had three days before Alya returned to town.  

“We have to get you back.”

Adrien merely raised a brow. “I guess it’s too bad that I don’t remember where I’m from then isn’t it?”

“You do _so_ you rotten cat!”

He blinked slowly up at her.

“Prove it.”

“ _Excuse_ me?”

Adrien stood up and up and up until he towered over her.  Marinette scowled, hands twitching for her wand, a spray bottle, anything to fight off the sudden wave of _something_ that swept over her as she stared into his very green, very _not_ -not-knowing eyes.

“I said,” He murmured, leaning down just enough to make her lean back. “Prove it.”


	6. vi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's up demons it's yo girl  
> this story isn't sad i swear

Marinette stumbled into the cottage carrying a large tome and muttering a string of curses not entirely of the magical variety.

“Do you need any –” Adrien flinched as she slammed the book onto her workbench. “–help.”

“Nope.” She snapped, collapsing into her seat with a determined scowl.  She tore quickly through the pages until a triumphant _hah!_ told him she’d found what she was looking for.

Curious, Adrien moved over to her to see what had her so excited.  His heart dropped as he realized it was a map.

“What is this for?” He asked, wary.

Marinette’s smile felt almost cruel.  “I’m going to _‘prove it’_.”

“Oh?” He said, swallowing down his panic in an attempt at nonchalance.  “And just how are you going to do that?”

She ignored him.  Instead, she placed her small satchel on the table beside the book and dumped out a collection of wooden markers.

“I found you somewhere in this region near Bourges.”

She placed one of the markers on the map.

“Really?” He shrugged, taking a seat beside her.  “I thought it was Moulins.”

“Nice try, Kitty.” She huffed, blowing a stray hair out of her face.  Adrien itched to reach out and push it back. “I’d never forget that night.”

“I’m that memorable, huh?”

“More like your pitiful yowling is burned into my memory.” But she was smiling as she looked at him from the corner of her eyes.

He remembered it too.  He’d been cold and hungry and more than a little disoriented when she’d plucked him from beneath a stone bench in one of the city’s numerous cemeteries.  Adrien had learned early on that black cats were hardly welcome in most places but no one would mess with him in a graveyard.

No one except a witch, that is.

Marinette placed another small marker on the map.  “You said you were only a cat for a few weeks before I found you.”

Adrien shrugged.

“Judging by how pathetic you were I doubt you traveled far from home.” She murmured. His heart dropped as her fingers danced thoughtfully along the lines of the page.

“Why are you so sure it’s even France?” He asked, leaning over to view the map, his chin brushing her shoulder. “Maybe I was kidnapped and brought from somewhere else.”

Marinette pushed him away with a finger.  “You’re definitely French, _Chaton_.”

She was distressingly good at proving it.

Adrien’s heart sank as he watched her place more markers along different major roads around Bourges.  It wasn’t going to take her any time at all to put it together.

“I wonder how difficult it would be to find out if there are any missing persons in the area.”

She was frowning down at her map, chin resting in her palm.  Her other hand tapped idly against the splayed spine of pages.

“Why don’t you want me?”

The broken words were out before he realized it, his heart raising the question his mind hadn’t thought to ask.

Marinette’s hand slipped and her chin banged against the table.

He winced as she rubbed at the soon-to-be bruised skin but stayed silent.  He refused to meet her gaze.

“I’m just trying to do the right thing.” She said, reaching out to touch his shoulder.  Adrien froze and she pulled away.

He tugged at his hands and whispered, “How can it be the right thing if I’m not with you?”

“Oh.” She said, softly. Adrien shifted, uneasy.  He felt more exposed than he ever had before.

_Oh._

She must be a witch for how much she said without saying.

“This would be easier if you just told me.” She said grabbing his anxious hands, stilling them.

He could tell her so many things but he was afraid she already knew.

“This would be easier if you let me stay,” He said instead.

Marinette smiled, wry and sad and small.

“Mon minou, that would be everything but easy.”


	7. vii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> get this plot out of my nothing

Adrien was keeping a low profile.

He had to, really, when he officially Did Not Exist.  Marinette was very strict on that front and he was loathe to disagree.  At least not until she agreed to let him stay.

They could deal with explanations then.

Unfortunately for him, it did mean he was restricted to the cottage and surrounding woods.  If Adrien thought his sudden transformation would bring him more freedom he was mistaken.  As Chat he had practically been Marinette’s shadow.  He’s not sure if anyone else would have been able to charm shopkeepers and neighbors alike into allowing him entrance but then again there wasn’t anyone quite like Marinette.

Not for the first time Adrien thought it was fortunate that she’d found a town so forgiving of her perceived oddities.  He’d heard horrible stories about what happened to witches, real or otherwise, when people became a little too suspicious. He’d felt the repercussions of those suspicions first hand.

However, need for discretion aside, Adrien was losing his mind.

To go from trailing Marinette’s skirts throughout the town to his now very restricted, very confined boundaries made him restless. Especially on mornings like this when the little witch was out and every moment apart was another moment she could advance her investigation.

After the first few days of treading a tear through the living room rug, Adrien had taken to walking through the nearby forest.  It wasn’t nearly as fun as wandering through the streets with Marinette but at least it took the edge off of his anxiety.

It was during one of these frantic walks that he wound up straying a little farther from the house than usual.  He knew Marinette would be back by now and possibly worried although possibly not.  For all she’d said she loved him over the years he was starting to worry that the affection didn’t transfer over to Adrien.

The thought sat like a splinter in his chest but he was too terrified to even ask.

Which was why he was more than a little surprised to return home to find her hunched over on the living room sofa, clutching something small and gold and familiar in her lap.

“Marinette?”

She started before quickly hiding the item within the folds of her skirt.  Her other hand wiped frantically at her cheeks.

Adrien was horrified to realize she’d been crying.

“It’s nothing.” She said, answering the question he hadn’t yet asked.  “I’m fine.”

He approached her slowly and took the seat beside her.

“What were you looking at?”

“It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing if it makes you cry.”

She sniffed, a light pink spreading across her cheeks and ears.  “You’re going to laugh at me.”

“Try me,” He said, gently.

Marinette sighed before pulling out the little leather collar she’d been hiding.  Adrien stared down at the tiny brass bell and could see his distorted reflection staring back.

“It’s stupid.” She said, her thumb running lightly over the leather strap.  “I _know_ it’s stupid.  I just… miss my cat.”

 _Oh_.

She rushed on.

“Everyone keeps asking about him- you- _Chat_.” Marinette shook her head. “Where you are.  What happened.  I don’t know what to say.”

“I know you’re here.  I know that. I just- it’s not the same.” Another tear leaked out of the corner of her eyes.  She wiped at it before it could make it far.  “Ugh.  This is so stupid.”

Adrien watched her silently. She shifted, uncomfortable under his scrutiny.

“I’d like to try something,” He said as a few more traitorous tears made their way down her cheeks.  Marinette didn’t say anything as he shifted closer and he took her curious frown as permission before laying his head in her lap.

She stiffened.

“It’s okay,” He said quietly, heart pounding in his ears. “You can pet me.”

“W-what?”

Adrien could feel his own blush rushing up his neck and resisted the urge to pull away.  “O-only if you want to.”

She didn’t move.

His stomach twisted in a confusing pang of embarrassment and desire.  He was starting to feel like maybe he made a mistake or crossed a line and began to stammer out an apology when he felt cautious fingers wind their way through his hair.

It was a sensation he didn’t even know he missed until he had it back and Adrien couldn’t have held in his contented sigh if he tried.

Marinette’s answering hum seemed to agree.

“Thank you, Kitty.” She murmured and he didn’t have the heart to tell her it was her he should be thanking.

There was an expanding pressure in his chest that terrified him as she continued to comb her fingers against his scalp.  But as with every terror over the last few years, he decided to ride it out in her arms.

It was only much later, when Marinette had disappeared into her room for the night and Adrien was left to stare at the wooden beams overhead that it hit him.

He was well and truly fucked.


	8. viii.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alya doesn't care if he had a tail she just wants Marinette to get that taillllll

“Soooo I heard a rumor,” A voice whispered in her ear.

“ _Gyah_!” Marinette yelped, stumbling forward face first into her heather plant and scuffing her hands on the branches.  Scowling, she flipped over to see her wayward friend smirking down at her.

_Figures_. She huffed, blowing her bangs from her eyes. _Alya never could just announce herself._

“You’re back,” She said, taking Alya’s offered hand as she struggled to disentangle herself from her skirts.

“Enlightened and _exhausted_.”

“Paris was good then?”

Alya pursed her lips. “What I saw of it. Most of my time was spent undercover and in cramped press rooms.”

Marinette shot her a scolding look as she bent down to right her overturned basket and trimmings.  “I wish you weren’t so reckless.”

“And I wish newspapers allowed women but we can’t always have what we want.” She looked over Marinette’s assorted plant clippings.  “Oooh, who is this for?”

“Madame Chamack.  Her daughter is sick.”

“And this will…?” She reached forward to pick up an orange flower only to have her hand slapped away.

“It will help.”

“So mysterious,” Alya teased. “Are all witches so cryptic?”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I don’t know. Are all reporters so nosy?”

“The best of us are,” Her friend said with a sly smile. “You never did ask me about that rumor.”

“Hardly off the road and she’s already heard a rumor.”

“What can I say? It’s a gift.” Alya cast her an assessing look. “Actually, it concerns you.”

_That_ got her attention.

“ _Me?_ ” Marinette squeaked.

“Yes, _you_.” She wrapped an arm around her shoulders and leaned in, waggling her brows. “Something about a beautiful, blonde stranger sniffing around your cottage?”

Marinette’s heart stopped and she thanked every god old and new that Adrien was out for the morning.  Smoothing her expression, she extricated herself from Alya’s grasp and smiled.

“I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Oh?” She said, quirking a brow.  “Then who is _that_?”

Marinette whirled around and cursed as she saw Adrien come bounding out of the forest.

_Dammit Chat._   He said he wouldn’t be back until the afternoon!

The blonde in question froze as he caught sight of the two women standing in the garden.  His confusion however was quickly swept away by a ridiculously broad grin as he broke out in a run.

“Should we start running from the handsome stranger or are you going to stop lying to me?”

Marinette sighed.

“This is Adrien,” She said, just as soon as the boy was in earshot.

Alya stuck out her hand but it was quickly pushed aside as walking sunshine enveloped her in a sweeping bear hug.

“It’s me, Alya!” He said, the girl squeaking in protest as he twirled her around.  “It’s Chat!”

“ _Chat_?” Alya asked, shooting Marinette a disbelieving look over the stranger’s shoulder.  “As in _Marinette’s_ Chat?”

Adrien was nearly purring as he set her down.  “Yes. _Marinette’s_ Chat.”

There was an edge in the way he said _Marinette,_ as if he were trying to prove a point.

Marinette glared.

“Some witch cursed him apparently.  Something to do with his father. He won’t tell me where he’s from so I can’t take him home.”

“Well,” Alya said consideringly. “It’s been three years. I’d say his home is with you now.”

“ _Thank you._ ”

“Alya!”

The redhead ignored her.  “So what’s your story then, whiskers? Are you magic too?”

Adrien shook his head. “No more than you.”

“Fascinating.”

Marinette scowled.  “This is _not_ fascinating.  Alya, he has to go back.”

“Oh don’t get your wand in a knot, M.” Alya said, _not listening_. She linked her arm through Adrien’s and started leading him towards the cottage. “I’m just getting to know your new roommate.”

“He is _not_ my roommate!” She protested as they disappeared into the house Adrien shooting her a triumphant over-the-shoulder grin.

Marinette felt the handle of her basket cracking beneath her hands as she held back a scream.

_This isn’t over, Kitty._


End file.
